An invitation for artists and writers, creators of any medium, to participate in a group exercise.
A group exercise performed in the comments.
A symbol is provided, and participants are asked to share at least twice to generate an amplification of that symbol.
Carl Jung championed approaching unconscious symbolic material with an ‘as-if’ attitude. Jung taught that meaning may be circumscribed, but not described.
The Process
1. Participants self-select.
2. Responses are placed in the comments to this post.
3. Each participant replies with an amplification of the symbol.
4. Each participant replies with an association to another participant’s amplification.
5. Participants are encouraged to repeat steps 3 and 4 as often as they wish.
6. Participants are encouraged to reflect on the group results of the exercise to provide an impetus for future creative work.
Postscript: Consider linking back to this post with any work this exercise generates. Links from this post to any work generated will be shared below.
(For further information, as well as an example of a completed group response mind map, see the inaugural Amplification Effect)
Week #7 Amplification Effect Symbol:
A solitary beach.
Join us in the comments below!
Group Response Mind Map (updated throughout the exercise):
Links to Works Generated:
Longing for the Wrack Line, by Richard Reeve
My thoughts go to a lesser known work by Thoreau, called Cape Cod, which is a composite travelogue recounting his walks from Eastham to Provincetown along the 30 miles of uninterrupted beach.
Thoreau… transcendentalism is an immediate response.
Time to update the mind map!
Also, Rumi’s poem Where Everything is Music, and the specific line:
“Poems reach up like spindrift
and the edge of driftwood along the beach, wanting.”
Both your reference to Thoreau and Rumi, made me think of Mary Oliver’s poem Tides. The words a poet uses to capture a feeling, create an image and take us right there with them.
My amplification is coastal ecosystem. I thought of wrack line. How it is life sustaining, an important part of the food chain and provides shelter.
Love the term wrack line!
Solitary beach brings to mind Heraclitus trying to empty the ocean with a spoon. One immediately associates this philosopher with his famous saying, “no man steps into the same river twice,” on his theory of impermanence and ever constant change.
I have no idea what this means. 😂
Mission accomplished.
I am not sure I get this either.
But here goes.
Solidarity beach – sit in harmony together creating by visualisation a beautiful future, infront of the sea , on warm sunny day.
Thanks for adding that.